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Judge rules against developer who built on sacred site
August 31st, 2009, 3:02 pm · 16 Comments · posted by Pat Brennan, science, environment editor
An Anaheim Hills developer accused of building a barbecue, walkways, a small building and other structures on top of a Native American archaeological site must pay Orange County parks officials more than $68,000 in damages and restore the site to its earlier condition, an Orange County Superior Court judge ruled Monday. 
Kang-Shen Chen, who bought the property to build his house on in 1987, had argued that he thought he had reached an agreement with the county on the issue in 1992.
Although the archaeological site is within Chen’s property, it was covered by a resource conservation easement prohibiting alterations. Chen and his wife, retired Cal State Fullerton professor Shu-Jen Chen, also were accused in a lawsuit filed by OC Parks officials of placing at least one structure and making other alterations on adjacent county parkland.
Judge Randell L. Wilkinson ruled that, while the county had been “negligent and untimely” in its enforcement by allowing years to elapse before taking action, county officials were within their rights to enforce the easement.
“It is unfortunate that the County was not more vigilant in enforcing its rights under the easement in 1989 and 1990…” the judge wrote. But that did not mean the easement no longer applied.
“While it may be said that all that the Chens have done on the easement has not been destructive or distasteful, the County is within its right to enforce the terms of the easement…” Wilkinson wrote.
Chen said Monday he planned to ask for a new trial, and to appeal the ruling.
“This is only chapter one of the civil rights violation of the county,” Chen said. “I think we will go through the U.S. court and, actually, I think we will appeal this case.”
Senior deputy county counsel Marianne Van Riper said she had not yet seen the ruling and declined comment.
The small house built on the site — which county officials called a “party room,” but which Chen called the “chapel on the rock” — includes a floor of sand topped by brick that covers an important archaeological feature: several holes in the sandstone where Native Americans pounded acorns into mash in centuries past.
Chen had argued that his method of covering the holes was intended to preserve them, not destroy them.
But the county and the judge both expressed concern about posts Chen appears to have driven into another part of the rock face, damage that would be “irremediable,” the judge said.
The rocks channel a natural spring that still flows with water, forming a grotto filled with ferns and other plants, where Chen also constructed a pond. That and other changes were considered improper alterations to the natural waterway.
The $68,475.44 is the amount the county spent to repair damage done within the boundaries of Santiago Oaks Regional Park, adjacent to the Chen’s property.
The archaeological site on his land is sacred to the local Juaneño Band of Mission Indians.
The lawsuit was filed in 2007 after the Windy Ridge fire swept through the area, exposing Chen’s alterations of the property and renewing demands that they be removed.
(Register photo of Kang-Shen Chen in room of prayer on his Anaheim Hills property by James Robles.)
Related posts:
- Anaheim man accused of building on sacred site makes his case
- County: Anaheim developer built “party house” on archaeological site
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Kang-Shen Chen cleaned up and “reclaimed” property that was in its “unaltered, natural state” all right. Abandoned is a more accurate description. A veritable dump, a junkyard covered with “old couches, a washing machine, old motorcycles and other trash.”
Case law and precedent hold that the holder of an easement is responsible for its maintenance and upkeep. This, apparently, is a well-kept secret government doesn’t want anyone to know about, that if government has an easement across your property, they are responsible for maintaining it. Not you.
Where were American Indian sympathizers and state bureaucrats when a site hardly anyone even knew was there or cared about needed cleaning up? What a load of crap.
Perfect example of a story where each of the parties involved is an……uhh……..well, let’s just say “everyone has one”.
That being said……I’d love find a plot of land that is NOT “sacred” to the Juaneno.
“Ohh…over there? Naww…..our ancestors just used it as a garbage dump. They just threw old bones and basketry over there. Go ahead. Build a condo on it.” LOL LOL. Yeah. Like THAT would ever happen
And with all the genuflecting to native culture……what people should understand (they SHOULD, but they don’t) is that the local Indians were relatively non-descript tribe and few in number. They had a comfortable life based on hunting, fishing, and gathering. Only 3,000-4,000 lived in all of Orange County pre-contact. That’s less than is in the right field stands at Anaheim Stadium.
Worthy of saving a few heirlooms, some burial grounds? Of course. But. like many liberal-led policies to meant to assuage white guilt, it has spiraled WAY out of control.
This is an outrageous infringement upon property rights, the same as those that led to the Revolutionary War. The improvements beautified his own property and created a usable tranquility garden that would have brought joy to the man’s family and others who may eventually live there. THE USUAL WACKO ENVIRONMENTALIST KOOKS AND THE NUTS WHO WANT EVERYONE TO BELIEVE THAT EVERYTHING IS SACRED TO SOME INDIAN BUNCH SOMEWHERE FUEL THIS CRAP ANDTHESE POWER CRAZED AND COMMON SENSE LACKING JUDGES MAKE THINGS EVEN WORSE! THEY NEED TO BE VOTED OUT! GIVE THIS MAN HIS PROPERTY. I ENCOURAGE HIM TO TAKE THIS THROUGH THE APPEALS PROCESS AND ALL THE WAY TO THE SCOTUS TO ESTABLISH A LINE IN THE SAND AND PRESERVE THE RIGHTS OF THE PEOPLE!!
So Private Property means nothing?
If the Juaneros thought that this was “sacred ground”, then why did they give ownership to Mr. Chen?….If the government KNEW that this was an archeological area, then why did they allow it’s sale to Mr. Chen?
I smell a government rat!
Not right.
It was so important that someone didnt notice the changes for 19 years, what a load of crap, he improved the property but all the county can do is fine him. They have too much time on their hands. Ya its a party room, C’mon look at him.
I hope he wins the appeal
If it meant so much to the Indians why did it take years for them to find out about the improvements Kang-Shen Chen had done.
No one had ever heard of the Juaneño Band of Mission Indians.
till Indians were allowed to lower property values with there gambling casinos.
If the County of Orange, knew that this was an archeological site, then it seems to me, that the property lines should have GONE AROUND said site!
The law is predicated on the “Reasonable Man” theory.
What “Reasonable Man” would PURCHASE, then PAY PROPERTY TAXES on land that will never belong to them?
I don’t understand the poor attitude? He had a spot Huell Howser himself may have visited one day and he ruined it all. That little gem of OC was protected with a document, and the judge clearly recognized that. My parents got an easement for letting a power transformer be installed on their property with perhaps similar documentation to what Mr. and Professor Chen agreed to. So, if I built a tree house over the transformer, or if I welded to it, blocked the doors with my new bike rack or any other scenarios violating the easement, it would have been a fair game to loose. Chens, give up, you are getting support in your minuscule republican bubble, OC, where you already lost, now you want to venture out to fight in the Big Blue State?
Leave it to one of the “belligerently uniformed”, aka liberal to somehow bring partisan politics into this.
BTW – I seriously doubt if your parents “got an easement” from Edison. More likely they “provided an easement TO Edison”. (I know..those annoying little prepositions…….)
They may even have been paid for it. Why don’t you go upstairs and ask them?
As to the language of the easement: All this is conjecture, of course, both pro- and con- Mr Chen, without the specific language. That would be interesting to find out.
Not uninformed, I read the first article and was interested why my elementary never did a field trip to ANY Pre-Colombian sites in OC when one was like 5 miles away. I did get to see those grinding rocks on Santa Catalina Island so I am considered very privileged.
Yup, we got 5 big ones for the box.
Earle I’m with you, he knew the situation when he bought the property. He did sign on the dotted line.
Earle – grinding stone sites are a dime a dozen. Think about it. Indians lived here for 1000s of years….OF COURSE there’s a bunch of grinding stone sites around. Hard to place them in the “sacred” category. That’s like archaeologists coming around in in 4000 AD and saying every former McDonald’s location was a “sacred site” to Orange Countians in 2009. Puh-leeze.
And do you really think you could keep elementary schoolers interested for more than 5 seconds at one?
Why does the reporter describe the homowner as a developer. Is this to play up the perception that developers (and not homeowners) are evil and mean to the environment? I didn’t know I and everyother homeowner is a developer.